SEATTLE: HITTING: C/DH JESUS MONTERO was brought over from the Yankees to hit in the heart of the order. At age 22, his offensive potential is scary. OF ICHIRO SUZUKI is entering the twilight of his career, but he might still have another .300 season left. 2B DUSTIN ACKLEY is the kind of line-drive hitter who fits well in Safeco, but he needs to catch up to MLB pitching. 1B JUSTIN SMOAK has disappointed, but he's making strides and has 30-HR upside. OF CASPER WELLS could play everyday. He won't hit for average, but has the power Seattle needs. MIKE CARP figures to at least grab early at-bats against righties. He'll strike out, but has lots of power. OF FRANKLIN GUTIERREZ is out for at least a month with a pectoral injury, but will reclaim his starting gig based on his defense. Seattle would love to see OF MICHAEL SAUNDERS step up to replace Gutierrez, but he's shown no signs of being able to handle MLB pitching. C MIGUEL OLIVO still has solid power, but he's an all-or-nothing hitter. 3B CHONE FIGGINS isn't quite done, but he's close. He'll have to battle line-drive hitting KYLE SEAGER for a job. SS BRENDAN RYAN will stick around for defense, but his bat is barely good enough for a regular gig. STARTING PITCHING: FELIX HERNANDEZ had a touch of bad luck last year, but he's one of the few pitchers in baseball who's a lock for 200 strikeouts. JASON VARGAS just keeps throwing strikes and letting his defense make plays. He'll get by fine again in spacious Safeco. BLAKE BEAVAN doesn't have a strikeout pitch, but he'll make few mistakes and get some outs thanks to a strong defense. HECTOR NOESI, who also came over from New York with Montero, isn't a big strikeout pitcher, but has good control and is savvy enough to get his shot in Seattle's rotation this year. 37-year-old journeyman KEVIN MILLWOOD will fill out the fifth spot in the rotation after a solid spring. Top prospect DANNY HULTZEN could break into the bigs in 2012. The lefty has the polish of a big leaguer right now, though his ceiling is more good-not-great. RELIEF PITCHING: Like many rebuilding teams, the Mariners will continue to shop their closer. BRANDON LEAGUE will pick up saves in Seattle, but he's more of a groundball pitcher than a strikeout artist. He'd likely be ticketed for a set-up role elsewhere. If League is traded, the closer role is wide open. SHAWN KELLEY came back from Tommy John surgery late last year and looked as good as ever. If he picks up where he left off last year, he'd be an obvious choice for ninth inning duties. CHANCE RUFFIN, part of the Doug Fister trade, has a strong minor-league track record. He could carve out a big role in this bullpen if he can improve his command.

TEXAS: HITTING: 2B IAN KINSLER will lead off again. A few less at-'em balls and he's an MVP candidate. SS ELVIS ANDRUS is coming along offensively, but his poor SB% could lead to fewer attempts. Injuries are the only thing that will keep OF JOSH HAMILTON out of the MVP discussion. He'll likely start declining at age 35, but DH MICHAEL YOUNG can't help but put up numbers batting cleanup in this lineup. 3B ADRIAN BELTRE was unstoppable in Arlington. Like Hamilton, he's an MVP candidate if healthy. Injuries are piling up for OF NELSON CRUZ, who still has monster power but doesn't run as much anymore. C MIKE NAPOLI is MLB's best offensive catcher and will play some 1B on 'off' days. Because their lineup is stacked, Texas can play defensive-minded/offensively limited 1B MITCH MORELAND. And because Ron Washington would prefer to play Hamilton in left, speedy CF CRAIG GENTRY looks to have the edge over DAVID MURPHY for the starting job in center. Cuban import LEONYS MARTIN will start the season in Triple-A, but JULIO BORBON could earn a significant OF role. STARTING PITCHING: COLBY LEWIS can overpower when he's on, but as a flyball pitcher in cozy Arlington he's going to have a handful of ugly days. The much-ballyhooed YU DARVISH brings a deep arsenal of pitches and a durable frame from Japan. He's probably the best Japanese arm to ever cross the Pacific. Lefty MATT HARRISON solidified his rotation spot. He has topped out as a respectable No. 3-type starter. DEREK HOLLAND has top-of-the-rotation upside. Consistency has been an issue, but hopefully another year and some big postseason moments helped to cure that. The big story is NEFTALI FELIZ moving to the rotation. He was considered a future ace in the minors, but the transition might not be easy. His K/BB ratio plummeted last year and his flyball tendencies could spell disaster in Arlington. Keep in mind the Rangers made a successful closer-to-ace switch with C.J. Wilson. Top prospect MARTIN PEREZ could be an option in the second half. RELIEF PITCHING: Veteran JOE NATHAN was brought in and handed the closer's job. He struggled in his first year back from Tommy John surgery, but most pitchers who've had the procedure don't come all the way back until their second full season. If Nathan falters, MIKE ADAMS could be next in line. He had no trouble transitioning from pitcher-friendly San Diego in the National League to hitter-friendly Arlington and the A.L.'s superior bats. KOJI UEHARA would also be in the closer discussion if Nathan falters, but he was unhappy about being traded from Baltimore and faltered for the Rangers late last year. ALEXI OGANDO got a huge boost from his defense and his bullpen before a late-season collapse. He threw by far a career-high in innings; better stamina would allow him to take the next step and possibly rejoin the rotation.

The offenses of the Rangers and Mariners appear to be trending in opposite directions, with Texas' lineup breaking out in a series-opening victory while Seattle's continued to scuffle.

Both will turn to rookie hurlers - facing each other for the second time this season - as this three-game set continues Saturday night in Arlington.

The Rangers (10-6) led the majors with 808 runs last year but were expected to see their offense take a hit after losing key players in the offseason. However, most likely didn't expect them to dip as drastically as the 3.7 runs per game they've averaged heading into Friday's contest.

But Texas busted out for a 7-0 victory, matching a season high for runs, and its six runs in the fifth were twice as many as the team had scored in a single inning this year.

Three batters broke out of ugly individual slumps. David Murphy had been 4 for his last 31, A.J. Pierzynski was 4 for 25 and Craig Gentry halted a 2-for-16 skid.

"We know what we're capable of as an offense. You can't do that every night," said Ian Kinsler, who leads Texas with five home runs and 11 RBIs. "I think we all want to get it going earlier."

Meanwhile, the Mariners (7-11) remain mired in inconsistency and haven't strung together two victories since starting 2-0. A big problem has been the lack of run production, with Seattle averaging 2.1 runs over its last nine games while going 3-6.

The Mariners have struck out 44 times in their last three, including 10 times against Texas' Yu Darvish on Friday. The others were against Detroit's Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, meaning they've faced three of baseball's top strikeout artists in order. But manager Eric Wedge wasn't necessarily buying that excuse.

"We have faced good pitchers. But we're a lot better than that," Wedge said. "The one thing is hitting with two strikes. We gotta do a better job. There's certain things we need to do prior to that to create damage. We're capable and we should do a better job."

Looking to follow Darvish's masterful outing - it was the first time Seattle has been shut out - will be right-hander Nick Tepesch, who is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA through the first two starts of his career. The loss came in a 4-3 defeat at Seattle last Sunday as he surrendered four runs on nine hits over 5 2-3 innings.

"The bottom line is he kept us in the game and gave us a chance," manager Ron Washington told the team's official website. "We just didn't get the hit that would have made a difference."

Seattle starter Brandon Maurer picked up his first career victory in that game, holding the Rangers to three runs on five hits over six innings.

Maurer, who is 1-2 with a 9.95 ERA after he was shelled in his first two starts, said he believes the experience against the same club should help Saturday.

"I'll just go out there and do the same thing," the 22-year-old told the Mariners' official website. "I don't have to tweak anything. Just go out there and make pitches."

Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight game and for the fifth time in seven days Friday as he continues to deal with groin tightness. Wedge said the team would continue to monitor his status.